I chased from Utah to Nevada Wednesday night. Heavy snow was falling as of 3 AM Thursday morning with Palisades automated Telemetry showing 9 inches by 5 AM. Easy decision huh?  Kirkwood had 3 inches. The decision to chase to Kirkwood was based on the limited terrain open at Palisades, and the solid chance of 10 inches for Kirkwood for lift openings. Also, winds were gusting in the 70s at 8,000 feet at Palisades with a gust overnight at 110 MPH. Kirkwood was skiing 10 inches deep by 9 AM (Opened on time) with some wind impaction medium to dense snow (Surfy). Palisades never opened Thursday. 

Below: My drive up to Kirkwood Thursday morning was full-on winter @powderchasersteve via Instagram

The 29 inches? Palisades scored big time Thursday with the telemetry at 9 inches early Thursday and up to 29 inches by late in the day. Storm totals are 29 inches with round 1 and the second surge of moisture just entering Tahoe Thursday afternoon. For those of you that missed it,  Palisades did not open on Thursday due to high winds, increasing avalanche danger, and a power outage. 

The next chase is keeping me in Tahoe for round 2. It will be between Palisades, Kirkwood, or Mammoth. 

Below: Snow intensity increasing on Thursday night for the Sierra through 3 AM Friday. Things taper off by Friday morning. 

The models for the Rockies still show varying solutions as this cutoff low slowly moves over Nevada into the Tetons and Wasatch Friday. In looking at multiple model runs my last forecast is still on track with 4-8 inches in the Wasatch Friday late AM top late PM, and another a 5-9 possible Friday night. The University of Utah plumes show a wide range of moisture (No true consensus) with between.05 and 1.5 inches of water. That would equivocate to roughly 7-20 inches of snow. The NAM is bullish as is the GFS. Time Heights show strong SW winds Friday (Somewhat favorable for BCC, with less in LCC) turning NW Friday night into Saturday with decreasing winds. I think the hydrant will turn on Friday from 3 PM to early Saturday morning, however, due to lower wind speeds, the orographic forcing might keep totals in the 9-15 inch range (My original forecast). I am going with a conservative forecast for Utah with some upside surprises possible if the bullish models pan out. If the NW winds were stronger we would see higher snow totals Friday night. 

Below: Total water for Alta for the next storm showing a bit of inconsistency on totals (Widely spaced lines). I am a bit more pessimistic than optimistic with my 9-15 inch forecast (Totals by Saturday morning). Snow showers should continue into Saturday albeit light. Ride late Friday but might be deeper early Saturday with better quality in the Cottonwoods. 

The data for the Tetons is also a bit inconsistent with SW winds turning north by Friday night. The models still show anywhere from 12-14 to 4-10. I am going with 2-5 Friday and 3-6 Friday night for Teton Pass.  

I am a bit more bullish on the mountain ranges just outside or south of Bozeman so Big Sky might be a good choice for late Friday or early Saturday. 

Colorado may still see some decent amounts in the northern and central mountains with a slow build-up of deepish snow from Saturday/Sunday and even some light snow continuing on Monday. Perhaps double digits for Rabbit Ears Pass, and a slow chug of 7-11 inches for the I-70 corridor favoring the western side and extending into Aspen. 

Below: The European models are showing a decent dump for the Cottonwoods Friday late AM to Saturday morning (Split between PM day snow and overnight).  Southern Montana is a good bet near Bozeman. The GFS is more pessimistic for Utah and Wyoming. 

See you on the first chair on Friday!  Follow my Instagram @powderchasersteve for the latest powder and travel updates. 

Powderchaser Steve 

Today (Thursday) is your last day to purchase the IKON Pass with the lowest discounts here.